Cross-members can be used as supporting members for vehicle chassis loads, as components of frames and/or the like. By way of example, as shown in FIG. 1, in some trucks and commercial vehicles, a typical chassis structure 10 includes two elongated lengthwise extending frame members 20A and 20B connected by a plurality of cross-members 30.
With reference to illustrative example shown in FIG. 1, the frame members 20A and 20B are adapted to be employed on a truck with the cross-members 30 positioned at various locations proximate to the labeled portions of the truck—e.g., the front closing portion, the engine portion, the transmission portion, the bogie portion, the rear closing portion, etc. For reference, the term “chassis” includes, but is not limited to, a frame for use with and as a support or undercarriage for a container.
A conventional cross-member configuration is shown in FIG. 2 (A). This conventional shape of a cross-member has proven to be generally proficient at carrying loads under circumstances such as frame parallelogramming, frame roll, and frame twist. Among other things, a significant disadvantage of this conventional style of cross-member is the amount of material required to fabricate the cross-member. Most notably, with this conventional type cross-member configuration, weight is a problem.
In truck and commercial vehicle industries, weight is a significant factor to be considered. Other cross-member shapes have been developed in an effort to minimize or reduce vehicle weight. However, such efforts have had limitations. In some examples, to offer some weight relief, an aluminium front-of-bogie member has been provided, such as, e.g., shown in FIG. 2 (B). This shape cross-member is generally efficient at carrying frame-roll loads, but it has some limitations and is inferior to a conventionally shaped cross-member in frame parallelogramming and in frame twist load cases. Due to these deficiencies, the use of this type of cross-member has been limited.
As set forth below, the preferred embodiments of the present invention provide notable advancements over the above and other existing systems and devices.